Since 9-11, the federal government has spent billions of dollars allegedly beefing up security in a bid to protect the country from another devastating terrorist attack. The Bush administration, with congressional help, created the massive Homeland Security Department and said the government has reformed faltering intelligence networks, improved its ability gather threat data and dissect it quickly and efficiently, refocused the military to meet the threat overseas, and formed a coalition of nations to combat terrorist components around the world.

You’d think a 170,000-person agency would be more than enough to ensure the security of the most powerful nation on Earth. But a trip to the vast U.S.-Mexico border would prove otherwise – much of our country is guarded by less than a rusting barbed wire fence.

In fact, in some places, there is even less than a rusting barbed wire fence. There are wide sections in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas that have been destroyed by rampant illegal immigration – not that a rusty barbed wire fence has ever been much of a deterrent to begin with.

The point is, in this time of unparalleled threats to our homeland, our first line of defense is too shabby in places to keep even cattle from crossing our border.

But wait. According to a Nov. 3, 2003 “investigation” by the Associated Press, U.S. and Mexican border agents have yet to catch any terrorists sneaking into America. So the open-borders crowd screams we’re overreacting, we’re costing the country billions in slowed trade, and we’re just making it too difficult for simple migrants trying to break into our country so they can work jobs “Americans don’t want.”

Each of those points may or may not be true, but my response remains the same: “So what?”

So what if American or Mexican authorities have yet to catch a terrorist coming across our southwestern border. Does that mean they never will?

The truth is, if terrorists haven’t infiltrated there yet, it isn’t because the obstacles are too great.

It’s true U.S. Border Patrol agents are the best in the world, but they can’t be everywhere. Though U.S. border-monitoring technology is good, it isn’t foolproof. Even though intelligence has been improved … well, never mind.

There needs to be another “obstacle” to prevent even one terrorist from slipping through our porous southwest border. It should be near-impenetrable, and work to compliment the other existing technologies and manpower currently deployed.

In short, it needs to be something other than rusty barbed wire.

The only things preventing us from building such a barrier are arrogance, political expediency, and denial.